Turning of the Tides
by cherrycool
Summary: He's not interested,' declared Sirius irritably. 'And there's nothing Evans can tell you to tell Remus to tell James that will change that'. L&J, originally oneshot, now four chapters. R&R!
1. Bad Idea

This was originally a oneshot, but it ended up being a much too long, so I've divided it into about three chapters, possibly four. Lily has finally agreed to go out with James, but the aftermath did not go according to plan.. Can things be fixed?

"I still can't believe it backfired so badly."

A slight moan.

"Oh, don't start again, for the love of Merlin."

"I'm just saying, Lily. I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

A snort.

"Neither did I, Gwen, believe me."

A pause.

"Lily, come on, you've spent the past two days crying. Isn't there anything at all I can do?"

Amid another bout of tears, Lily hiccoughed and paused, shaking back her dark red hair to glance up at her friend. Gwendolyn's brown eyes were wide and sincere, clearly upset at her suffering. Far from feeling consoled by her friend's evident concern, Lily only felt worse. She did not deserve affection; she had done something incredibly cruel.

"I didn't mean to do it, Gwendolyn," she moaned, her green eyes glistening with tears as she hiccoughed.

Gwendolyn wrapped an arm sympathetically around her shoulder. "I know," she said soothingly. "I know you didn't actually expect this happen. I mean, you've despised him for so long!"

Lily did not appear comforted by this statement; she gave a tiny moan.

"Look," said Gwendolyn bracingly. "Maybe if you try and explain that to him –"

"How can I?" interrupted Lily, her mournful voice rising in desperation. "He won't even look at me! Black pulls him away whenever I try to get near, looking at me like I'm something he just found on his shoe. I mean, what am I supposed to do, short of kidnapping him?" She hiccoughed again. "I don't think that would go down too well."

Gwendolyn smiled wryly. "No, perhaps not."

Lily groaned and buried her face in hers hands. "I never expected that tables to turn like this, Gwen," she said, shaking her head slightly.

"I don't think anyone did," said Gwendolyn dryly.

"It was that blasted Gertie Hepsettia!" exclaimed Lily angrily. "She wound me right up, and I know it was just out of jealousy, but I shouldn't have let it get to me! And she knew James was standing behind me, and she let me say all those things! She let me … " Lily fell silent, shaking her head. "No," she said softly, her fair and freckled face streaked with tears. "I still shouldn't have said it. It was my fault. What am I going to do, Gwen?" she asked, resting her head mournfully on her friend's shoulder.

Gwendolyn glanced around the room, as though searching for an answer. Finally, she said, "Listen, what about Remus? Why don't you ask him to-"

"Tried," came Lily's bleak reply from her shoulder.

"Was he mean?" asked Gwendolyn sharply.

"No, no," replied Lily, wiping her eyes. "You know Remus, doesn't have a mean bone in his body. No, he just was a bit distant with me, and said that whatever it was, James wouldn't want to know. And then he left. And James has barely said one word to me for the past two days, and we're Head Boy and Girl!" Lily gave a tiny scream of despair. "What am I going to do, Gwen! It's not even Christmas, I can't spend all year with him hating me!" She broke in sobs again, burying her face in her hands once more.

"Well, he's spent the last three years with you hating him," muttered Gwendolyn dryly under her breath.

Lily surfaced. "I heard that," she choked out irritably.

Gwendolyn rolled her eyes. "Alright," she said, getting up and moving towards the dormitory door. "_I'll_ go talk to James."

"No," said Lily, sitting up and looking desolately at Gwendolyn. "He'll know you're talking for me, and he won't listen. In fact, he'll probably just hate me even more."

Gwendolyn hesitated, watching Lily sink miserably back onto her bed. There was something unsettling about the whole situation; Lily was always so calm and collected, so sure of herself. Lily was the one they went to in times of need, and now here she was in floods of tears, over the one person she'd never given a second thought to, unless it was a thought of a painful death. Gwendolyn sighed. She must really like him.

"Fine," Gwendolyn replied, hand hovering over the brass handle. "I'll talk to Remus. Ah ah," she said, holding up a finger as Lily opened her mouth to protest. "Not another word. You stay here. I'll be back soon." And before Lily could say anything, she was gone.

Reviews are always welcome ;) I'll have the next chapter up within a few days, and it should be longer and more explanatory. It also contains a bit of Sirius and Remus, for any of you fans out there ;)


	2. Intervention

Thanks to those of you who added my story, but please review, even if its … how shall we put it … 'constructive criticism'!

Here's chapter two for you all …

Sirius stabbed moodily at a potato. It managed to evade the spear of his fork, bouncing off the plate instead and into a boat of gravy. This did little to better Sirius's mood. He threw his fork down in frustration and leant back, crossing his arms irritably and consenting himself to surveying the Great Hall with a bored and dark glare.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Potatoes giving you trouble, Padfoot?" he queried with a barely contained smirk. Sirius did not reply; he was instead staring at something with a rather unpleasant expression. Remus pitied the object of his glower and followed his gaze; his eye alighted on a petite dark haired female who was making her way determinedly down to where the pair of them were sitting.

"He's not interested," declared Sirius irritably before Gwendolyn had even gotten a word out. She closed her mouth and glared at Sirius.

"Wasn't talking to you, actually," she replied coolly with a flick of her hair. "Remus, could I have a word?"

Sirius's expression darkened and he raised an eyebrow at Remus, as if daring him to listen to Gwendolyn. Remus returned his look with a defiant expression and said firmly, "Certainly, Gwendolyn." He made to stand up.

"Look," said Sirius angrily, turning to Gwendolyn. "There's nothing Lily can say to you to say to Remus to say to James that will make him care. If she's that bothered, tell her to say it to him herself. And even then." He added with a snort. "Don't expect him to listen."

"That's not fair," said Gwendolyn, her face turning red. "You know as well as I do that Lily's been trying to talk to James for the last two days, and that you, Sirius, pull him away every time she tries!"

"Gwen's got a point, Padfoot," put in Remus fairly.

Sirius glowered at him. "I haven't seen him this bloody upset since his parents were killed," he said quietly, his tone bitter. "_She_," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Gwendolyn. "Has no idea what _she_," he gave the ceiling a dark glower. "Has done to him."

"He's got a point too," conceded Remus softly, looking at Gwendolyn.

Gwendolyn's defiant expression faded into a pleading one. "She's really sorry," she said quietly to Remus. Sirius snorted. Gwendolyn ignored him.

"Please, Remus," she said imploringly. "Please, listen to me."

Remus hesitated, but Gwendolyn herself looked as though she were about to cry on Lily's behalf, so with a gentle sigh, he stood up, ignoring Sirius's look of betrayal. "Stay here," he ordered wearily. Sirius looked for a moment as though he would do no such thing, but then he nodded, picking up his fork once more and stabbing the unfortunate potato, this time with vehement accuracy.

Remus followed Gwendolyn out of the Great Hall and into a small chamber off the Entrance Hall.

"OK," he said quietly. "Talk."

"She is sorry, honest Remus," implored Gwendolyn with earnest.

Remus paused before nodding. "I believe that she is, yes," he returned slowly. "But the fact still remains that she only went out with him as a joke in the first place. You know as well as I do - Merlin, the whole school knows as well as I do - how in love James is with Lily. Was," he added curtly.

Gwendolyn made a noise of disbelief. "Is," she said firmly, continuing before Remus had a chance to contradict her. "It wasn't all Lily's fault though. I mean, we talked her into it. We told her to just agree to go to Hogsmeade with him and then tell him, at the end of the day, that she had had a terrible time and that maybe then, finally, he would leave her alone, having seen for himself that it actually never would work. Honestly Remus, we _never _expected her to agree to the next trip as well. 'That was _not_ the plan, Lily!' we told her, but honestly Remus, she was practically glowing! Really," implored Gwendolyn, her expression pleading. "She really does like him."

"What about the conversation between Lily and Gertie Hepsettia, then?" came a disbelieving voice from behind Remus and Gwendolyn. They turned to see an angry looking Sirius striding into the chamber, ignoring the group of fawning fourth year Ravenclaws in his wake.

"Sirius, I told you to wait in the Great Hall," said Remus wearily.

"I am not a dog, Remus, I do not 'stay'," replied Sirius, fully aware of the hidden joke and throwing Remus a challenging look, as though daring him to laugh.

Remus rolled his eyes, but before he could think of a witty reply, Gwendolyn cut in. "You didn't even hear the whole thing, Sirius," she said, glaring at him.

"All I know," replied Sirius defiantly. "Is, they were having an argument about something, and Gertie told Lily to go running to her new boyfriend, and Lily replied that he wasn't her boyfriend and that she had only gone out with him in the first place to get rid of him!" Sirius shook his head in disgust. "Gertie asked her what she meant, and Lily said that she had only done it because her _friends_," Sirius glared at Gwendolyn like she was something unpleasant on the bottom of his shoe. "Had made her do it, and that she hadn't even wanted to in the first place. Of course," he continued, snorting in disbelief. "Once she realised Prongs was standing _right behind her,_ she tried to take it all back. Well, he doesn't want to know now, so too bad, you're wasting your time I'm afraid, my dear. Now let's _go, _Moony." He turned to leave, looking at Remus expectantly over his shoulder.

Remus opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he was again interrupted, again by Gwendolyn, who normally got on well with Sirius, (very well once, in fact) but was now frowning at him with distaste.

"Gertie Hepsettia is so obsessed with James that she would kidnap him and keep him locked in her closet, if she could," Gwendolyn said cuttingly. "You know that, Sirius. She goaded Lily into saying what she said because she was jealous."

"Goaded or not, Lily wouldn't have said it if it hadn't been on her mind," retorted Sirius.

Gwendolyn actually stamped her foot in frustration. "Now look here!" she cried, eyes flashing. "You are practically more worked up about this than James is, and if all you're going to do is stand there and give me a look that would have me not only dead, but chopped up into tiny little pieces and thrown to a Manticore if it could, then just bugger off, will you, because at least Remus is willing to listen to my side of the story, not that its even_ my_ side, its Lily's, and its not even Remus I should be giving it to, its James, but seeing as both of them are too bloody stupid for their own good, its left to us to yell at each other instead!"

Sirius looked momentarily taken aback, regarding Gwendolyn warily. Before either one of them could start yelling again, Remus finally cut in.

"Alright!" he said loudly, looking from one to the other. "We've all had our piece. Now, Gwendolyn, I believe you are right; it should be Lily and James yelling at each other, not us, so … let's get them to it."

Sirius regarded him with a mixture of unwilling agreement and disbelief. Gwendolyn looked momentarily surprised, but then her face set in determination. "Right," she said. "I know Lily's more than willing to talk to James,"

"I'll bet," muttered Sirius darkly.

"How are you going to get James to talk to Lily?" finished Gwendolyn, completely ignoring Sirius.

Remus paused momentarily, and gave Sirius and enquiring look. Sirius rolled his eyes and gruffly entered the plan.

"I'll just tell him to," he said irritably, running a hand through his elegantly untidy dark hair.

Gwendolyn made a noise of disbelief. "After all you've said about him not wanting to talk to Lily, you think you can just tell him to and that will be that."

"Yep," said Sirius, a smirk playing around the corners of his mouth.

Gwendolyn looked as though she was about to scoff this, but Remus interrupted. "If Sirius tells James that he thinks it a good idea to talk to Lily, James will, eventually," he said, almost in amusement.

"So why on earth didn't you tell him to before?" cried Gwendolyn.

"Because I didn't think it a good idea," replied Sirius, smirking freely now. Gwendolyn looked for a moment as though she would quite like to hit him, but restrained herself. "Some friend," she contented herself with muttering.

Sirius fired up at once. "Hey, he didn't _want_ to talk to her, alright? _I_ didn't tell him not to, _he _didn't _want_ to. I'm just saying that if I tell him _to,_ he will. So don't go yelling at me if you want my help!"

Remus, getting quite irritated, cut in before another shouting match could break out. "Alright!" he said in his most authoritive voice. "Enough!"

Sirius smirked again. "Moony's using his Prefect voice," he said tauntingly. "We better shut up."

In spite of herself, Gwendolyn smiled. Remus made a frustrated noise, and then said, in a voice of forced calm, "OK. _OK_. Sirius, you go and talk to James. Gwen, you go and talk to Lily. I … I will be in the Common Room, with a Butterbeer."

Gwendolyn and Sirius both grinned, and the three of them stood up and made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Please review:D


	3. Good Idea

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Right, here's the third chapter. I thought this would be the last, but there's one more after this! Thank you to my one and only reviewer:D

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Lily was watching the door expectantly, despite her mother's warning, 'a watched pot never boils', echoing in her mind. She had stopped crying, and was content to lie miserably on her bed, wondering how in the name of Merlin she had gotten herself into this mess.

It was absurd. She had hated everything about James Potter for so long; from the way he hexed anyone who irritated him, to the fact that he adored his adoring fanclub, right down to his annoyingly untidy hair. Her ultimate pet peeve, however, was that no matter how rude she was to him, how cold, how much she told him she'd rather go out with the Giant Squid than him, she just couldn't shake him. There was simply no getting rid of James Potter.

So, she had finally agreed to go out with him. To prove to him, once and for all, that she and him were simply Not Meant To Be.

She had expected James's head to swell so large that hit wouldn't fit out the door, perhaps resulting in their 'date' being cancelled; no such luck. She had thought that he would stride up to her arrogantly and spend the entire time talking about himself; perhaps, "One Hundred Greatest Snitch Catches Made By James Potter'. She thought he would insist on meeting up with Black, so he could brag; she had assumed that he would waste all his money in Zonko's; she guessed he would charm Madam Rosmerta into selling him a Firewhiskey; she had … It didn't matter what she had thought would happen, none of it did.

He had actually been … shy, when he approached her in the Entrance Hall, grinning nervously. He cleared his throat several times on the way down to Hogsmeade, seemingly stuck for something to say. He had barely mentioned himself at all, seeming to prefer to talk about her. They hadn't seen Black once, he hadn't gone near Zonko's, and he bought her a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. In fact, dare she believe it; she had enjoyed herself. She had always ensured that the Prefects had been at every meeting, so she had not had to spend time alone with him; but now she realised that he was actually very different alone. He was … she couldn't describe it just yet. She would need to go on a few more trips. So she agreed when he asked her to the next Hogsmeade visit.

_But that stupid Gertie Hepsettia_, Lily thought angrily. She had been so jealous of Lily, and they had ended up having an argument at the end of Potions the next day. When Gertie had commented, snidely, that she should go running into the arms of her new boyfriend, Lily had snapped, stupidly, that she had only gone out with him in the first place to get rid of him. And, of course, he had been standing right behind her.

_He looked so hurt_, thought Lily, wincing and closing her eyes to try and avoid picturing his expression. A dull flush had crept up his face and his usually sparkling eyes had been quenched. There were only a few people left in the room, but they had stopped talking, and there had been a horrible, billowing silence. And then, for the first time ever, James had turned his back on her and walked out. Remus and Peter had scampered after; Sirius had said something incredibly rude, accompanied by a hand gesture, and then he had left too.

And now, here she was, two days later and James had purposely ignored her throughout all their classes and avoided her in the Common Room. He had even taken different routes so as not to run into her. Three days ago, this would have been Lily's dream come true. Now, it was a nightmare.

The dormitory door opened; Lily looked up as Gwendolyn came striding into the room.

"Up!" Gwendolyn demanded, grabbing Lily's hand and hoisting her to her feet.

"Why? What did Remus say?" she asked hopefully.

"Sirius is going to talk to James for you," said Gwendolyn, bracing herself for Lily's reaction.

Lily blanched. "_Black_?" she cried indignantly. "Gwendolyn, that'll make it so much worse!" With a yelp of frustration, she flopped back down onto the bed, dark red hair splaying out like a fan behind her.

"No, it won't," said Gwendolyn firmly, attempting to pull her onto her feet once more. "Come on, Lily, I know what I'm doing. Sirius said he'd talk James round. Come on, we're going down to the Common Room."

Lily shot Gwendolyn a look of incredulity, but allowed herself to be hoisted to her feet and, with an immense sigh, reluctantly followed her friend down the stairs.

* * *

Sirius's hand hovered over the handle of his dormitory door. He could hear Remus behind him, clicking his tongue impatiently.

"This is definitely the right thing?" asked Sirius hesitantly, turning to look at his friend.

"Yes," said Remus patiently. "Open the door and tell James to go and talk to Lily."

"You better be right about this," muttered Sirius as he seized the brass knob and pushed the creaking door open.

James was lying on his bed, throwing a Muggle tennis ball up into the air and catching it again. It had obviously been bewitched; it was zig zagging and looping above him. His dark hair was extremely untidy, and his expression was one of irritable boredom. His hazel eyes flickered momentarily when Sirius and Remus entered, but he did not look at them.

Sirius flung himself dramatically on the bottom of the bed. "Prongs, my dearest friend, how are you?" he queried casually.

Remus was leaning against one of the posts, his arms folded. "Have you been throwing that thing since we left for dinner over an hour ago?" he asked shrewdly.

James nodded, eyes still on the bewitched tennis ball, which was now becoming more erratic.

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances.

"Don't you think you should get out for a bit?" asked Sirius conversationally, ducking as the tennis ball made a bid for freedom. James lunged for it; it slipped through his fingers and zoomed gleefully around the room. He made an irritated noise and shot Sirius a dark look. "Now look what you made me do," he muttered irritably, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up to retrieve the rogue ball.

Sirius opened his mouth indignantly, but Remus cut in hastilly before he could say anything.

"Listen, Prongs … Sirius wants to talk to you."

Sirius threw Remus a filthy look before meeting James's enquiring glance.

"Er … yeah," he said. "Well, the thing is … see, we were just talking to Gwendolyn, and … eh ..." He faltered at the expression on James's face; James had paused mid jump to scowl at him, and unfortunately, the tennis ball chose that moment to smack into the side of his head and fly away again. Cursing under his breath, James made a rude hand gesture at the bewitched ball, which was now banging violently into the window, and made his way slowly back to his bed, where he sat down opposite Sirius, one eyebrow raised.

Remus poked Sirius hard in the back. Sirius retaliated by elbowing him in the stomach; Remus groaned loudly and doubled over.

"Yeah … so … Gwendolyn was saying that Evans … well, that she didn't mean what she said, and that … that it came out wrong –"

"Of course she'd say that," interrupted James irritably.

"No, I think she's right, Prongs, I think Evans is sorry –"

"And since when have you stuck up for Evans?"

"James," cut in Remus, massaging his stomach. "Think about it. If she did mean it, and she really does hate you, then why would she go to all this trouble to try and convince you that she didn't mean what she said?"

James paused; a crease formed between his eyebrows.

"Look," said Sirius quietly. "I think you should go and talk to her. I think it would be a good idea."

James didn't say anything for a moment; he appeared to weighing a certain amount of pros and cons in his mind. Finally, he looked up, biting his lip. "You do?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius nodded. "She's down in the Common Room."

James didn't do anything straight away; he tensed, as though waiting for something big to happen, and then suddenly, he rumpled his hair, leapt up, and strode quickly over to the dormitory door, clapping Sirius on the shoulder as he went.

Sirius sighed and allowed himself to fall back on the bed, arms outstretched. "We better have done the right thing, Moony," he said warily.

"We did," answered Remus distractedly. There was a scuffling noise, and Sirius looked up just in time to see the tennis ball zoom straight at his head, Remus behind it with his wand outstretched and a grin on his face.

Sirius yelped as the rogue ball made painful contact, and he tumbled messily off the bed, clutching his face in his hands.

"What, in the name of Merlin, was that for!" he yelled angrily from the floor.

"For elbowing me in the stomach," replied Remus, folding his arms and grinning from ear to ear.

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Lily and James will have their long awaited talk in the next and final chapter, reviews will make it appear faster! ;)


	4. Result!

**Ok, this is the last chapter! I want to thank you all for reading, and indulge in a bit of shamelss self promoting when I suggest that you take a peek at some of my other fics ... ;) I had fun, hope you enjoyed it:D**

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Lily was perched nervously on the edge of the couch. The Common Room was fairly empty around her; most of the younger students had gone to bed, and many of the older ones had taken up residence in the library.

She fiddled with her sleeve nervously, not noticing a familiar, messy haired boy sidle up to her.

"Evans?"

"James!" Lily jumped up, knocking over a glass of water in the process. "Oh … oh no … "

James suppressed a smile. "Here," he said quietly, flicking his wand. The glass repaired itself and with a hiss of steam, the water dried up.

"Thanks," murmured Lily, not meeting his eye. A silence followed this, during which both Lily and James racked their brains for something to say.

"Look … James …"

But he shook his head and interrupted her. "Not here," he said, glancing around. The few students that were still in the Common Room appeared to be having intense discussions, but James knew that they were watching the pair eagerly out of the corners of their eyes. "Come on …"

They clambered out of the portrait hole, feeling several sets of eyes burning into the back of their heads, and set of at a leisurely pace down the corridor.

"James," began Lily hesitantly, glancing up at him and then looking away quickly when he met her eye. "Look … I know there's no excuse for what I said, but please believe me … I didn't mean it."

The rounded a corner, ignoring three Ravenclaws who scuttled past them, whispering eagerly.

James didn't answer straight away. He glanced down at the top of Lily's shiny dark red hair, and found himself wishing she'd look up at him with those startling green eyes. Sirius was right, she did sound sincere. _But nonetheless,_ said a nagging voice in the back of James's mind, _had she only gone out with him as a joke_? The thought made James's stomach lurch.

"Was it true though?" he found himself asking her as they ascended a staircase.

"Please, I really didn't mean it –"

"Was it true?"

Closing her eyes and wishing with all her heart that she could truthfully say something else, _anything_ else, Lily nodded. "Yes," she whispered.

James's face fell. He had heard it from her own mouth in the Potions dungeon, he knew it was true, yet still, he had hoped that there was a reasonable explanation, which for some reason, she had so far neglected to put forth.

"So you did only agree to go out with me so you could get rid of me?" He queried in a voice of forced calm.

Tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, Lily nodded unwillingly, wincing at how much worse it sounded coming from James's own mouth.

"Oh. I see."

He looked so hurt. This Marauder, this practical joker who was invincible to absolutely everything, was gazing down at her with a rare expression of vulnerability, and Lily found herself utterly stuck for the right words to say. She felt worse than she had ever felt in her life, and now wondered, angrily, what had made her do something so ridiculously harsh in the first place.

"I thought … I thought you …" James broke off, feeling stupid. He smiled humourlessly. "I thought you liked me."

Lily forced herself not to burst into tears and throw her arms around his neck; now was probably not the right time.

"But I do," she whispered earnestly, gazing at him. "I thought I didn't, but I was wrong … I do like you."

He stopped walking and turned uncertainly to face her.

"So why did you … ?" He broke off, waving a hand. "You know."

"Well …" began Lily, twisting her hands nervously. "Well … you … you were always bugging me."

James raised an eyebrow at her.

"No I'm going somewhere with this, honestly!"

In spite of himself, James smiled, and sank to the floor of the corridor. He indicated to the tiled ground beside him, inviting Lily to join him. She knelt down next to him and smoothed out her skirt unconsciously.

"You … I mean wherever I went, there you were, hitting on me and asking me out. No matter what I did, I couldn't get away from you."

"Not helping your case here, Evans," said James dryly.

"No, I am. I do have a point here. I'm not entirely to blame, James."

James looked at her incredulously and made to stand up, but Lily grabbed his arm and forced him back down again. "No, you are going to hear me out," she said firmly.

James contemplated throwing his cloak on and running off, but the spark in her eyes compelled him to stay. "Fine," he sighed. "Keep talking."

"Ok," Lily said, her mouth slightly dry. "Right … so … you were always there, and … and I hated it, James. I hated the fact that you wouldn't take no for an answer, I hated the fact that everyone else thought I was crazy because I said no to you, I hated … I hated you." She looked at him apologetically, and found him watching her closely, his hazel eyes sombre.

"Go on," he said softly. "Keep talking."

Thankful that the corridor they had chosen to have this conversation on was mercifully empty, Lily continued.

"So … when Gwendolyn and Hetty suggested that I go out with you so that you could see how awful a couple we'd make, I … I decided it would be a good idea." She shook her head, praying that he'd understand. "I didn't set out to humiliate or hurt you, James," she implored softly, meeting his eye. "I just ... wanted some peace."

James held her gaze for a moment, until she looked away in embarrassment. A new feeling was forming in the pit of his stomach, and with a jolt of shame, he realised that he had never really registered before just how annoying his frequent flirting must have been to someone who did not want it. Most of the female population of Hogwarts would have welcomed it with open arms, although Sirius had always taken the title of ultimate 'ladies man'.

But Lily … Lily had been different. She was one of the few who were not impressed by the antics of James and Sirius, and this was what caught James's attention in the first place. He had really liked her, and had assumed that after a while, she would return the feeling. Yet three entire years later, she still hated him, and he … he still hadn't given up. And as was his manner, he wasn't exactly subtle or considerate. _Merlin_, he thought uncomfortably. _I must have been really annoying …_

"But," Lily continued, breaking James's concentration. "I was wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"About you."

James hesitated, but couldn't help asking, "How do you mean?"

"Well," said Lily hesitantly, inching slightly closer. "I had planned to have an awful time, and show you how bad we were together, but … I ended up … having quite a nice time, actually."

James sat up a little straighter. "Really?" he asked, mouth slightly drier than usual.

Lily nodded. "Gertie was jealous, you know she's obsessed with you, and she provoked me … I know I still shouldn't have said it, but it was the original truth … its not anymore though," she finished softly.

James shifted and moved slightly closer. "Its not?" he asked, mustering all his willpower to prevent himself from jumping up and doing a ridiculous victory dance right there in front of Lily.

Lily shook her head, aware that she was blushing furiously.

A sort of explosion was taking place in the pit of James's stomach, and his heart began to race as it had when she had first agreed to go out with him. He had been so ecstatic; after years of pursuit, Evans had finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him … it had been a joke though, he remembered, face falling slightly.

Lily read his mind, and her face broke out into a smile. "I mean it this time," she said softly. "I … I really like you. You can celebrate," she addedd knowingly. "I know you want to."

James grinned and took her hand, aware of the fact that their knees were touching. Lily's already red face deepened a bit more and he asked, softly, "Lily Evans, will you accompany me on the next Hogsmeade trip?"

Unable to contain her smile, she nodded eagerly.

"Really?"

"Really," she said breathlessly, moving closer still.

James cupped a hand under her chin, his other hand still enclosed around hers. He could count almost every freckle on her face. Still feeling as though this were a dream (and willing himself not to wake up) he moved slowly closer … closer … until he could feel her gentle breath … and he kissed her.

Butterflies had taken flight in Lily's stomach and her heart sped up. She had never been kissed like this before, and the way James's hands tightened gently around her slender frame sent tingles down her spine. Unfortunately, they broke apart sooner than she would have liked.

"Go Lily!"

"Nice work Prongs!"

Lily and James turned in shock to find the grinning heads of Gwendolyn, Sirius, and Remus poking around the corner of their previously deserted corridor.

"Gwen!" gasped Lily. "What are – go away!"

Gwendolyn beamed. "I knew you'd make it up!"

"Sirius, Remus … get lost!" said James. He attempted to look outraged, but could not help grinning at Remus's smirk.

"Just wanted to make sure you two weren't killing one another!" he said with a twinkle in his eye. "How wrong we were …"

"Or if we were correct, what a way to go!" exclaimed Sirius, winking at James. Lily blushed.

"Padfoot," said James warningly.

"Right so," said Sirius cheerfully. "We'll leave you two alone to … eh … 'talk' …" he wiggled an eyebrow suggestively and, linking an arm with both Gwendolyn and Remus, dragged them both away down the corridor, humming loudly over their spluttering protests.

A comfortably nervous silence echoed in the wake of their departure. Lily laughed shyly, and finally, James gently took her chin and turned her face to look at him once more.

"Now," he said softly. "Where were we …"

* * *

**Reviews are always welcome! Thank you for reading:D xxx**


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